This is - without question - the essential edit of Q1 Hamlet. Ms. Irace presents in the clearest way to date the several arguments for origin, being careful not to tip her hand in any one particular direction. The introduction is a revelation, the annotations are superb and unmatched, and the modernisation of the language is most unobtrusive. This is the kind of work that will inspire and invigorate the artistic and academic masses to accept Q1 not as "the bad quarto," but as an elemental part of the Hamlet legacy...

...Yep, that's how the line goes in this early, pirated, "bad quarto" edition of the greatest masterwork in the history of English drama, assembled and published on the sly in 1603, probably from the memories of actors who had appeared in the original production of the show. This edition is a cause for non-academic Shakespeare geeks everywhere to rejoice--it's a general-reader's version, highly affordable, copiously annotated, with an intelligent introduction. While no one will ever suggest that this text is on a level with the magnificent First Folio "Hamlet," it still has theatrical merits all its own--a quicker pace, a simpler, less dilatory structure, and, at times, a fiercer, more pungent sense of language: "Oh, what a rogue and peasant slave am I" here becomes "Why, what a dunghill idiot slave am I." Reading it gives a fascinating new perspective on the most towering achievement of English-language tragedy.

If you have gotten this far, you probably have seen the movie ASIN: B00004RF9B. The book has better characterization and plot details. And of course it tells you want they are thinking; so you do not have to guess from facial expressions. The bulk of the story matches with movie with one big exception

What seems to be overlooked, is the WHOLE primes of the story. The animals are contemporary, not dinosaurs or wooly mammoths. In the movie the Krell brought the animals back from Earth over 1million years ago. In the movie the great machine transports material in any quantity and shapes anywhere.

The real threat is only in the book. The animals were contemporary because Morbius CREATED them from memory. He was not moving matter and the Krell were not interested in moving matter. Although that is what Morbius told the space crew. The Krell was creating life.

FORBIDDEN PLANET is acclaimed by many science fiction fans as the best and most accomplished science fiction film yet produced (including the equally legendary, 2001: A Space Odyssey). David Campiti and his associates have done a masterful job of rendering the epic film into the so-called graphic novel format without reducing the story to a simplistic "comic" or a grotesque interpretation that would destroy the subtlety and thought provoking implication found in both the film and original novel. Unlike a literal "translation" of the film, the graphic novel presents a beautiful background panorama artistically depicting another GARDEN of EDEN. The Myth of the Unicorn is a focus used to characterize Altaira, the innocent Eve of The Forbidden Planet as well as the concept of Forbidden Knowledge that is thematic basis of both the film and grapic novel. Make no mistake, there is plenty of action and suspense...along with the awesome Monster from

the Id...to hold the interest of Star Wars or Independance Day film admirers. However, FORBIDDEN PLANET is an epic precisely because it is an original incarnation of a myth...the myth of man struggling to transcend himself while remembering that he is a "mere" creature, not GOD. For a "comic" to explore such themes without trivialization or PC condescension is a genuine accomplishment that stirs imaginative reflection and is exciting reading...

Don't know any Shakespeare? Don't worry. Even if your education was as incomplete as mine, you can still follow along and enjoy these two stories. The writing is witty, sly and a delight to read.

Slavitt is at ease with language, Shakespeare, and human nature. I couldn't put this one down, not because I was on the edge of my seat, but because I kept falling off it laughing. Philosophy and Sociology were never as much fun as they are in this little volume. By the way, dust off the dictionary before you start this one.

This cd is a great way for families to make good use of downtime spent in cars. It combines biographical detail (kids will be fascinated by such everyday Elizabethan images as traitors' heads on spikes on London's Tower Bridge) with fascinating literary and cultural analysis (rap-weary parents will be intellectually intrigued). Quotations from premier academic authorities are interspersed with appropriate period music and short excerpts from the Bard himself. It flows like an NPR report, and you may find yourself sitting in the car to finish it even after you've reached your destination!

My whole family enjoyed Getting to Know William Shakespeare. We loved the music, the analysis of his plays, and the interesting facts about his life. The professors on the CD make Shakespeare very accessable to all of us with funny stories and interesting historical background. If you don't know anything about him, you will find this great to listen to. And if you have read his plays, you will also learn something about his craft. The CD is very entertaining. I highly recommend it.

The Naxos production of Great Historical Shakespeare Recordings offers the listener a unique and superbly presented compilation of some of the greatest recordings of Shakespearean material dating from the very beginnings of the recording era. Here you will find Shakespeare being recited by such legends of the stage as Henry Irving, Ellen Terry, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, John Barrymore, John Gielgud, Sybil Thorndike, Hugh Cassohn, Laurence Olivier, and many more. Also included are performances by such unlikely but gifted Shakespearean performers as Charles Laughton, Edith Evans, Laurel and Hardy, Bransby Williams, Dylan Thomas, Sarah Bernhardt, and others. In addition to Shakespeare enthusiasts and scholars, Great Historical Shakespeare Recordings is highly recommended to students and the non-specialist general listener who would enjoy sampling the variety of impressive performances over the past several decades.

Of especial interest to students of the theatre and certainly to actors is a Naxos collection of (NA 220012) on two CDs or tapes.

The first one gives us the voices of such Shakespearean luminaries as Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Arthur Bourchier, Lewis Waller, Frank Benson, Johnston Forbes Robertson, John Gielgud, Sybil Thorndike, Lewis Casson, John Barrymore, Laurence Olivier, Henry Irving, Edwin Booth, and Ellen Terry. The last three are preserved on cylinders and the Booth one is scarcely audible. All of these readings are in the grand style, and it is instructive to compare the "Once more unto the breach" of Waller and Benson with that of Olivier. Terry's youthful delivery belies her age, but too many of the readers came to the recording session far past their prime. Still, this is living history and utterly fascinating as such.

The "Miscellany" is a mixed bag indeed. We have pairs of actors such as Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence in "Private Lives," Fred Terry and Julia Neilson in a poorly chosen scene from "The Scarlet Pimpernel," John Gielgud and Edith Evans in the marvelous handbag scene from "The Importance of Being Earnest," and even Laurel and Hardy recording in London. (Strange bedfellows indeed.)

Solo "turns" are performed by Tree as Svengali, Bransby Williams imitating Irving in "The Bells" and several (then) notable theatre personalities in his monologue "The Stage Doorkeeper," Henry Ainley reading "The Charge of the Light Brigade," and Charles Laughton reading (of all things) The Gettysburg Address (from the film "Ruggles of Red Gap").

The last foreign-language selections will not be of great interest to many listeners and of immense interest to students of European acting styles. We have Sarah Bernhardt reading "Phedre," Jean Mournet-Sully as Oedipus (in French), Constant Coquelin, the original Cyrano, racing through the Ballade of the Duel, Feodor Chaliapin reading a poem in a language I cannot identify, and Alexander Moissi doing excellent readings from "Faust" and the "Erlkoenig."

The notes are brief but informative and were written by David Timson, whose "History of Theatre" is also available on Naxos and reviewed on its appropriate web site.

"Goodnight, Desdemona (Good Morning, Juliet)" is the funniest play I have ever read or seen. I am currently playing Constance in a high school production of the play, and the more we go along, the more we discover about the play. Upon first reading, it is an absolutely hilarious twist of Shakespeare's "Othello" and "Romeo and Juliet." But reading it a second, and even a third time will reveal subtle innuendos and wordings (warning: LOTS of sexual innuendos in this play!) that contain so much wit and humour that your respect for Anne-Marie MacDonald will grow with every scene. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. If you can familiarize yourself with the plots of both "Othello" and "Romeo and Juliet" before reading or seeing the play, then your enjoyment will increase, because you will have a basic understanding of how the characters have been re-interpreted. OH MY GOODNESS -- READ THIS PLAY!

From all the non-musical plays I've heard, seen, or read, this play is the most inventive, most creative, most hilarious play I've ever read. Macdonald's unexpected twists and turns of Shakespeare's OTHELLO and ROMEO AND JULIET made me howl with laughter almost all the way through. Act I is a bit bland, but understanding that Macdonald wanted to set the whole story as to what would come ahead. But when Acts II and III come along, you'll howl with laughter when you see lots of sex jokes, cross dressing, and straight madness. I would compare it to Japanese anime's RANMA 1/2, to anyone who is familiar with it. I don't want to spoil the story, so I won't type a synopsis, but I will tell you, don't pass this play up because you won't know what you're missing!

If you love this play and are thrillled by the stage history and staging minutiae, the this book will send you reeling! The historical reasearch is encyclopediac and captivating. Your rude sea will grow civil with its song.

I thought that the book was fantastic and delight. I couldn't put it down. I loved every minute of the book.

Reading "The Masks of Hamlet" is like sitting next to a brilliant, and somewhat disorganized, Hamlet scholar at a dinner party. Rosenberg describes in wonderful detail issues in Hamlet that you may not even have given a moment's thought to. Did you know that Gertrude, the emotional heart of the play, has only 157 lines, less than even Ophelia? Or that the "foolish" epigraph that Olivier included in his film version of Hamlet that "Hamlet was the story of a man who could not make up his mind" came from a Gary Cooper movie Olivier had just seen?

But just as at a dinner party, enjoying this book is going to require a fair bit of previous knowledge and a good deal of patience. You are not going to find here a lot of careful background clarification nor is it going to be easy to find out how Rosenberg would resolve any specific issues. There is not a subject index, nor does the chronological and character organization of the book provide any one central place to review a particular theme.

If you know the play well Rosenberg will uncover layers and layers of meanings or alternative interpretations you may not have considered. The book draws on both critical writing about the play and on the possibilities explored in thousands of different actual performances of the play. This not only multiplies the possibilities of interpretation (is Claudius large and forward moving, or bent over and withdrawn); it also reminds the reader at every moment of the theatrical power of the play.

I do think this book would also be wonderful for someone deeply involved in a production of Hamlet. Hamlet is one of the most analyzed and performed plays in history. Rather than come at the play with a narrow notion of what a character or a scene is about, reading this book will open the actor/director up to the incredible range of possible ways of interpreting and understanding what does happen in Hamlet. Have a nice glass of wine and enjoy the meal.

But this is not a good book for someone who is either impatient or new to Hamlet criticism. For in its thoroughness and acknowledgment of the "polyphonies" in each character, the book is overwhelming and without organizing themes.

Of the countless thousands of volumes of Shakespeareana published in the last 400 years, this monumental work must rank among the very best. Compressing a century's worth of literary and theatrical analysis of the world's greatest play into a too-brief 971 pages Rosenberg has provided the "Hamlet" aficionado with an inexhaustibly rich resource for exploring its infinite complexities. Even at seventy smackers, it's a bargain

This is one of the best layouts for unabridged books imaginable! I would highly recommend!

This has to be the perfect gift, to give or receive. It's timeless. A complete Shakepeare play on one, elegant page.

I've had mine framed; it hangs in the hallway, and draws people like a magnet. Needless to say, I shall buy further editions for friends and family. Great idea!

This book is attractive, sturdy and is formatted well. That being said, the content is equally stellar. The author knows a lot about each piece, and provides the background you need to make the character come alive at an audition, or just in your mind for reading. There are footnotes to the language that are useful, and the speeches themselves are constructed nicely and are good choices for any level of Shakespeare performer. MY only complaint, which isn't that important, is that the characters are not studied with as much depth as you would like if you were reading this book for literary pleasure. But it does give this book as an actors guide a sense of poetic freedom and freedom of creativity. Also good is the previous volume "Alternative Shakespeare Auditions for Women." Don't expect Juliet scenes or Beatrice monologues--- the "alternative" characters and speeches of Shakespeare get their 15 minutes! Recommended for anyone who has every wanted to be a Shakespeare "snob" at auditions and freshen up your Bard inventory. :O)

Like its counterpart, "Alternative Shakespeare Auditions for Women", this book is an excellent resource for the actress. It provides unconventional monologues that, while not as well-known as Juliet's balcony or Viola's ring scene, are Shakespearean gems and are sure to spark the interest of the director. There are good choices for older actresses, as well as some teen/twenties pieces that break the ingenue mold or put a different spin on the stereotypes. Also included are good, solid tips on auditioning for and acting in Shakespeare. This is a wonderfully useful book.